Flagstaff council passes resolution against uranium transport

The Canyon Uranium Mine near Tusayan./File photo courtesy of Robert Tohe

By Corina Vanek | Arizona Daily Sun

The Flagstaff City Council officially has opposed the transportation of uranium ore and other radioactive materials through the city and neighboring communities.

The resolution, however, will have no ability to control the route trucks hauling the material will take. At a meeting last month, City Attorney Sterling Solomon and Assistant to the City Manager Caleb Blaschke said the city is preempted from regulating the transportation of uranium ore and all hazardous materials by the U.S. Department of Transportation.

The council voted 6-1 on a resolution stating the city’s opposition to the transportation of uranium ore and reaffirming Flagstaff as a “nuclear free zone.” Councilman Scott Overton was the lone “no” vote on the resolution.